Happy Software Freedom Day! Today is a great day to share free software with everyone: chat it up with your friends and help them understand that software freedom is important in its own right. The freedom to share, improve, and run software is critical for a democratic Internet built on making your computer do what [...]
Congratulations to the gNewSense GNU/Linux hackers for putting out another release! If you’re looking for a fully-free software GNU/Linux distribution for your Intel-compatible personal computer (most are such computers), download this disc image and give gNewSense a try. gNewSense is a complete operating system based on the GNU OS and the Linux kernel. gNewSense most [...]
I’m glad to be a financial contributor to a number of these projects precisely for the reason Webber mentions. If you have the means, I too urge you to help free software projects financially.
Obama recently announced his intention to appoint David Kappos, IBM VP and general counsel, to head the US Patent and Trademark Office. While some press highlights his changes to US patent policy, even a quick glance at the changes reveals them to be no serious challenge to US patent policy or IBM’s power to avoid [...]
gNewSense GNU/Linux, a free software operating system based on a variant of the GNU operating system with the Linux kernel, is out with a new CD which contains all security updates made to the system through April 14, 2009. Why would I want a free operating system? You deserve software freedom, the freedom to share [...]
On BoingBoing, there’s a thread talking about “the alarming number of lawyers being appointed by the Obama administration to the Department of Justice” and how this means “Bad news for people who believe in copyright reform, and greater freedom to share, remix, and reuse content online.”. One of the quotes cited in support of the [...]
Apple says they’ll drop the DRM on all iTunes tracks. Other music distributors (some which sell the same tracks as iTunes) have already done this. Dropping DRM on iTunes tracks would be less onerous than the current arrangement where some iTunes tracks still have DRM. But how do DRM-free iTunes tracks compare with Magnatune? What [...]
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) alleges that Cisco, famous for making equipment used to route data around the Internet, has infringed on the FSF’s copyright in numerous programs used in their Internet routing equipment marketed under the Linksys brand (read the complaint and more background about the case). It’s important to note some differences between [...]
In a discussion of Defective by Design’s DRM boycott on Boing Boing, David Mershon asks, “I understand why they feel the need to do this, they consider phrases like “Digital Rights Management” to be Orwellian doublespeak, but I think this kind of private language prevents effective outreach. Why not just say “DRM” and be done [...]
GNU Software Freedom Law Center FSF blogs Electronic Frontier Foundation Nina Paley